Insurance

Here are variousblog resources related to the insurance of properties, ranging from the main building cover to ancillary ones like contents. Whether it's the premium to pay or the policy to correctly arrange, these help explain what's needed from the perspective of different property interests.

This can be a real problem that people are not even aware of, or if they are, have no idea of how severe the consequences are when it goes wrong.

That’s your building insurance cover when the property is vacant with no one in occupation.

Of course even when a building is in regular use there may well be certain conditions that the insurers state, maybe after an inspection or just part-and-parcel of the cover. Maybe regular electrical tests and informing them of any material changes.

But when the property is empty, things get serious, which you can understand from an insurer’s perspective. The risk of a claim sky rockets here, not only from a higher chance of people breaking in with no one there, but when no one is present then problems...

Properties need to be insured, just like any other 'asset' like your car or personal contents and furniture. If you're a home owner you'll be used to arranging your annual renewal of your building insurance, and for business properties and larger residential developments often through landlords, managing agents, and possibly tenants directly or indirectly by paying the premium.

Things are generally easier for your own home insurance, as it's often just a matter of shopping around for the best deal. There are lots of online comparison websites to help, and advice to help make sure you provide the right information and use the right negotiation tactics.

The mistake seen time and time again though, is people assuming that...

If you have damage to your main property fabric, then it may be worth an insurance claim to get the repair costs covered. This is applicable for both residential and commercial properties, and focuses on damage to the actual property through the building insurance, rather than your own personal or business items through contents insurance.

So you might have roof tiles falling off and needing repair, or a water leak from under your bath and shower chasing issues, not to mention of course any break-in damage. This can also involve other properties in shared development so a flat below affected by a water leak, or adjacent office unit by a shared damaged roof areas.